The Key
by A Million Rubber Skeletons
Summary: Rikku's been a tagalong to world-saving twice...is it her turn? Shortly after a mysterious visit to her father at The Machine Faction, chaos strikes, and machina seem to be the root of it. In a case of right-place-right-time, the bubbly blonde finds herself thrust into the heart of things-with a certain one-eyed Machine Faction leader incessantly and unfortunately at her side.
1. Chapter 1

There is nothing as exhilarating as flying.

I mean, don't get me wrong, I've done a lot of things in my eighteen years that gets the heart going. I've saved the world, twice! I've fought countless battles, walked the world around once, and then traveled it again in search of spheres…I've broken conspiracies, brought people together, repaired machina four times the size of me. I've had my experience, you see, with things like this. Still, though…there's something about sitting on the deck of a massive airship with the wind whipping your braids around and the wide expanse of Spira underneath you. It's…humbling, y'know?

This is probably the only thing saving Brother from me kicking his butt right now. We're flying to Djose Temple to visit the Machine Faction-and my father, who is working on some sort of massive project. Buddy, our regular pilot, is on the project, too, so of course Brother decided to wrestle over the controls to the airship. It's mostly programming, but still, I don't want to trust him with anything. I bugged him incessantly for a while, but that can get exhausting when all he does is gripe and push you away, so I made my way up here, and, well…

The rest of the ride is definitely enjoyable.

Not to mention, my tan's looking a little not-so-tan. Even Al Bhed skin needs the occasional sun pampering. I've been indoors a lot over the past year or so. With the return of Tidus and the destruction of Vegnagun, the world has just been social event after social event. And this time, instead of just Yunie getting all the credit, I'm a public figure, too-and oh boy is that exhausting. I mean, don't get me wrong, it's nice to get a little credit, especially since Miss High Summoner was entirely in the spotlight with the last world-saving go-round. But I never realized how _exhausting _this would be. People expect things of you when they know who you are, and I always teased Yuna about it, but being on the receiving end of that responsibility seems like no teasing matter. I guess I've always been Cid's daughter, but…people tend to have mixed feelings about Cid. It tends to not matter as much.

It seems like as soon as he enters my thoughts, he enters my reality, because we're landing as I'm getting to the end of my responsibility inner-rant. I stand and give myself a few luxurious moments to stretch to my full (maybe not so substantial) height, and then lower to touch the toes of my dusty old boots. Now that we're actually landing, I feel the apprehension building. The fact that he won't say anything about this "project" worries me, especially after the oh-so-intelligent event where he decided to turn the Zanarkand Ruins into a tourist trap. _Zanarkand. _Nothing is sacred to my good-for-nothing father.

"RIKKU!" My brother's voice is screeching through the voice-magnifying machina that Shinra installed, making me curse that little genius for his "efficiency". "Where are you? _Fa yna rana!_"

Because, apparently, I need to be told that we're here. "_E's lusehk, cdibet-rayt!" _I snap._ I'm coming, stupid-head!_ He can't hear me, but it makes me feel better, and really, that's all that should matter.

I toss my ponytail over my shoulder-Spira, my hair has gotten long-and move to the sliding door that will take me through the labyrinth of the massive red airship's inner workings.

I make my way to the entrance, where my tall, tattooed disaster of a brother is waiting with his hands on his hips. They don't stay there, though, as fleeting as all of the gestures Brother tends to make. He flails as he shrieks, "We landed and you weren't here! We could have been outside already!"

"I _was _outside," I respond with a roll of my eyes. A weird mixture of apprehension and excitement is rolling around in my gut, and I pause to press a hand to my bare stomach. I really have no idea what is going to happen once we step off. It's kind of terrifying, and that frustrates me. I'm Rikku! I saved the world! I shouldn't be scared of a few mystery plans and my overly exuberant father! Or a certain one-eyed, overly confident Machine Faction leader…

That is _not _the source of my apprehension. I refuse to let that affect me in any way, or even think his name. He doesn't deserve that, after all. Raising my chin high, I stomp past my brother, who is shouting something or another, and then step gracefully down the steps. Or try to. Until my boot gets caught on the stairs and I stumble.

What a great omen.

My clumsiness gives me the momentum to take off at an almost-jog, and so Brother has to rush to catch up to me. He's calmed down as much as he ever will, and so he turns to me and says almost like a human being, "_Fryd tu oui drehg dra bnuzald ec?_" _What do you think the project is?_

"_E tuh'd ghuf._"_ I don't know._ "He wouldn't say much, which isn't weird for Dad, y'know? It could be anything."

"I hope it's something _big!" _Brother shakes a little for emphasis, spreading his hands out wide above his head. "Something that changes all of Spira!"

"I highly doubt that," I say, trying to remain grounded to contrast my brother's optimism, but I can't help myself. I'm getting pretty excited, too. Maybe it's something we can help with!

We're entering the temple area, now, and I have to stop to soak in the sights and sound. Home might be nothing but a memory, now, but flavors of it definitely still remain, and Djose Temple has become one of them. Everywhere I look there are shades of blonde hair and spiraling green eyes. The Al Bhed language is spoken interchangeably with English, and it's like music to my ears. People and machina alike wander around, and though there is an air of solemnity, that fun, joking atmosphere is still there. I can't help but get just as jumpy and excited as Brother. This is what life is supposed to be like!

"Look! Cid's kids!" someone shouts, and I give a grin towards the owner of the voice. This spreads a tidal wave of greetings, both in Al Bhed and the native tongue of Spira. Brother and I look at each other and then shrug, waving excitedly at the lot of them. A bubbling laugh escapes me as he grabs my arm and then pulls us through the crowd. I want to stop to chat, and usually Brother would, too, but he's got this Super Project on the brain, so he pulls us on through into the temple.

The faces inside are familiar, albeit a bit surprising. Especially the determined-looking blonde woman that makes her way up to us. Nhadala is rarely seen outside of the headquarters of Bikanel's desert excavation, and honestly, she scares me a bit, so the fact that she strides towards us immediately is almost frightening. She doesn't look happy, but then again, she never does.

She offers us a quick smile. "Brother, hello. Rikku…we miss you guys out there. You were our best diggers, you know." That's definitely a compliment, and I'm flabbergasted. Thankfully, she doesn't expect a response, continuing immediately, "Cid's in one of the back rooms. Don't go in there," she adds, holding a hand out as Brother starts to rush in. "I'll get him."

With that, she's gone. Brother huffs and stomps his foot. "_E fyhd du caa dra bnuzald!_" he exclaims._ I want to see the project!_

"Calm down. Acting like a big idiot isn't going to get you anywhere but sent outside," I respond with a roll of my eyes. I'm pretty upset, too, though. I want to know what's going on just as much as he does. I'm just…calmer about it, y'know? Or maybe I'm just acting calmer because Brother is a mess and I want to let him know that he's a mess. If that's a goal-and I won't admit it-it works, because he grumbles a little.

"The project would be nice to know about, though…" This, I add under my breath as I'm wandering away. A wayward machina has caught my eye. I crouch down to look at him, a little brown creature that looks like he's probably meant for patrolling. Occasionally, his movements jerk, a flash of electricity emphasizing the malfunction. "Poor thing…" I reach my hand forward, to see if maybe I can tell what's going on, but a booming voice interrupts my endeavor.

"Well, if it isn't Brother! And Rikku!" I stand to face my father. He's wearing his trademark overalls, his hands on his hips and a casual grin on his face. "What're you guys doing here?"

"We said we'd come visit you, Dad," I reply with a small roll of my eyes. "Always absentminded."

"Oh. Right." He clears his throat. "Well, we're in the middle of something-"

"_Dra bnuzald!" _Brother exclaims. _The project!_ Of course.

"_Lyms tufh_." Cid calms him in our native tongue. "It's top secret, all right? You can't see none of it!" His voice becomes less gruff as he continues, "The work will be done at the end of the day, though. Why don't you guys stick around and we'll chat afterwards. Maybe we can find a position for you, if you're done with all those fancy balls…" His tone says exactly what he thinks about the social gatherings.

"They're not 'balls', Dad," I respond with a sigh. "Besides, we have responsibility. Or, at least I do. You know. Responsibility? Like what's invested in this huge 'project' you won't tell us about?" I might be a little pouty, but I don't care! I want to know what's going on, and the fact that he's hiding it from us isn't exactly promising.

"Look, _ruhao_, I'd tell you if I could, but…"

"Cid!" An unfamiliar face pokes his head out of the Big Fancy Top Secret Room. "_Fa haat oui_!"

"Hear that? They need me," Cid says, holding out a hand. He's obviously pretty pleased by the way that turned out. I'm not so pleased. Why does everyone _interrupt _everything? I guess that's the part about Home I don't miss at all. He calls out to them that he's coming and then looks back to us. "Stick around, okay? We'll talk in a few hours?"

He's gone before we can say anything else. I stamp my foot and let out a little huff. "Rrgh, he is so _annoying!_" I exclaim. Brother is giving me a gloating look, so I glare at him. "_Crid ib! _You know I'm right. What are we even supposed to _do _for hours?"

Brother shrugs. "Talk to people. Have fun. _Oui vunkad ruf du ryja vih_," he accuses.

I gasp. "I do not forget how to have fun! I'm the queen of fun!"

"_Frydajan,_" he replies. _Whatever._ And then he takes off to…involve himself in something stupid and…and leave me!

"Hey! Wait for me!" I whine, though I make no move to follow him. Instead, I huff and settle myself down onto the floor. The malfunctioning brown machina makes its way to me, and I give it a small smile. "Hey, buddy. I know what it's like to be a mess. But I also know what it's like to be fixed…hm. _Lusa rana._" I coax it forward, hoping it has the voice controls down enough that it will understand. It makes its way forward, and I lean in to find whatever switch works it to a stop. The wires are familiar, the problem exciting.

I'm hooked.


	2. Chapter 2

My little buddy turns out to be not-so-complex. I beg a handful of small parts off of a nearby mechanic, and within a couple of hours, the machina is up and running. And I mean running. He's definitely a patroller, and he either has a set path or thinks he does, because the second I finish him up, he's trotting out of the temple. I watch him go for a moment with my hands on my hips, lips pursed, debating the pros and cons of following it. The pros: I get to entertain myself as everyone has left me, and I get to enjoy the fact that I made him better. The cons: Uhm, what cons? With a little jump, I'm off after my new friend.

I guess I've tried to be more serious, more grown-up as time has passed, and maybe that's why Brother accused me of not knowing how to have fun. It's not much of an excuse, maybe, but...I just feel like everyone's watching me. People know my face, and they know that I've been a big part in world-saving at least once. I feel like they expect more of me, so I try to give them more. It doesn't always work so well-I mean, I am Rikku-but for the most part, I've learned to calm down a little more. Following a machina I just spontaneously repaired is probably the most honest fun I've had in months. I'm not about to admit that Brother is right, but...well, I will admit that this feels great.

"Hey, not so fast!" My thoughts must have bogged down my feet, because the little thing is way ahead of me at this point. I dash ahead to catch up to him, panting the tiniest bit at the pace it's setting. All those "balls", as my father calls them, may have made me soft in more ways than one. I give a thoughtful look down to my stomach. It's definitely still flat, but it might be a little less muscley than before. Well, poopie.

I'm definitely getting a workout, now. The little machina leads me all the way down the bridge and into the clearing that will lead me to Mushroom Rock Road, and then stops and settles itself down. Relieved, I plop down next to him, reaching out a finger to stroke his brown side. He's not so shiny. Someone should fix that. I give a glance to my white sleeves, debating, and then, with a shrug, start to polish. Even if I don't have time to clean it, there's always another dressphere. Changing your outfit at a whim is definitely a perk of the dressphere system-thank you, Shinra.

"Hey, speaking of Shinra, is he here? Do you know, buddy?" I ask the machina. He jerks, as if possibly debating my question. I laugh and give him an extra-affectionate polishing stroke. "Well, you tried. I bet you were too distressed to remember even if you had the capacity for it, though."

The machina doesn't make a lot of noise, and that just emphasizes the sudden fact that whoever is coming down the road sure does. I glance upwards, wrinkling my nose at the short, muscular Al Bhed male swaggering his way down a road. He's talking fast in our tongue, something about how "she didn't even see it coming", probably some sad sex story about a girl who would never know the damage to her reputation. He and his three companions are all wearing full masks-which is not that odd, I guess, except these are perhaps a little more extensive than usual.

They get to the little clearing and then, I guess, notice me, because the short one stops and stares for a second. "_Yna oui Cid'c tyikrdan?_" he all but sneers at me, leaning down to meet my eye at my level._ Are you Cid's daughter?_

I'm not one for being unnecessarily hostile. In fact, I usually love meeting new people. But...there's something about this guy that gives me the creeps. "What's it to you?" I ask, intentionally in Spira's native tongue.

He looks at me for a moment, frowning, and then, without warning, bursts into laughter. "_E ruba oui'na yc mega res yc oui caas_," he proclaims._ I hope you're as like him as you seem._ He stands up before I can think of anything else to say, and he and his buddies continue down the track.

The encounter seemed innocent enough, I guess...but something about them just gave me the creeps. Maybe it was the full-on mask, or the ringleader's strange attitude. Or maybe it was that question. Cid certainly has a reputation. Do I seem to follow that? Getting past that offensive thought, why would they _want_ me to live up to my father's reputation? I feel violated, somehow. I abandon polishing my new friend and curl my knees into my chest, resting my chin on one as I stare thoughtfully at the machina.

"Maybe I'm just paranoid," I murmur, scowling darkly. "But...oh, Spira, I definitely feel violated." I give a small shudder and hug my knees. "You know, I really wish you were one for cuddling, Mr. Machina." Mr. Machina. Hm. Maybe I should name him...

"You know, not to brag, but I'd say _I'm _an expert cuddler if you're needin' a hand." That voice. I freeze, squeezing my eyes shut tight. Ohnoohno. This is not what I need. Maybe someone else has that crackling, easygoing drawl...

Nope. When I reopen my eyes and tilt my head towards the voice, its owner is painfully recognizable: Gippal, leader of the Machine Faction. Talk about painful history. We grew up together, and...well, I guess we kind of flirted off and on. He was older, a little mysterious, and after Yunie's pilgrimage I sort of started to think of him as...something more. Okay, I had a huge crush on him. It worked, though, 'cause he seemed to reciprocate the feelings I wouldn't admit to myself, flirting in his easygoing Gippal way. During the battle to destroy Vegnagun, I let my feelings show a little more when he was injured, and we...well, we didn't kiss or anything. But there was definitely some extended cuddling and the kind of talking that made me blush. I thought we had something. Those thoughts were dashed when I left and then returned to visit, only to find that he'd already moved on to some other girl. And that had been that. I'd avoided him like the plague. I haven't seen him personally until now.

His words are reminiscent enough of that time after the battle that I can't do much but focus on not blushing. I guess that's okay, though, because as I watch he settles down next to me. How odd, to see Gippal sitting during the day when there are things to do. I take the time to look over his somehow casual armor, the spiked hair, the eyepatch. Even with an impairment, he's easily the most attractive Al Bhed male I've laid eyes on. Not that I want to admit that. Or that I care. I got over my crush on him.

"So, what brings you here, Cid's girl?" he asks, closing his eyes-eye-and stretching backwards. "I mean, besides your party animal friend." He gives a lazy nod towards Mr. Machina.

"Pop's been talkin'," I inform him with a shrug. I hate how I automatically fall into such an easy cadence with him. It's absolutely unfair. "He invited us down to talk about this 'big project' he's been working on, and then forgot about it. We came down here and he won't even let us see what's _up_. I was hangin' around and found this little guy, so I decided to fix him up while I waited."

"Ahh." Gippal opens his eye and looks towards me. We Al Bhed have the same eyes, essentially, green with a spiral pupil. There are definitely different shades, though. Gippal's pale, almost-grey tone is especially appealing, and maybe a little more unique than I want to admit... "Right. The project."

"You know about it," I exclaim, sitting up straight, and then I slump down with a huff. "Of course you know about it. You're Machine Faction leader. You probably started it."

"Well, yeah, I started it," he says with a shrug. "Not 'cause I'm leader, though. I just have an especial liking to this project, y'know?"

Y'know. I wince lightly at the word that falls so easily from my own lips. Even for Al Bhed, we have such a similar way of speaking, especially around each other. I don't like noticing all of these connections, so I clear my throat and focus on weaseling some information out of him. "So, you think you can tell me about this super-special top-secret project?" I lean over to nudge him, giving my best grin.

He rolls his eyes, gives a long-suffering sigh. "Ah, Rikku, you're killin' me. Everything's still in development. At this point we don't even know if it's going to work, and since it's huge...well...I wanna keep it under wraps. Don't wanna get people too excited yet."

"Awwh, come on!" I ball my hands into fists and shake them around. "It's no fair to tease me like that. I know tons of people on the project, and I can keep a secret!"

"Can you, now?" he asks. I respond by fluttering my eyelashes at him, and he laughs. "All right. Here's the deal. I can't tell you anything right now-and I mean that." I start to pout, and he holds up a hand to stop me. "Buuut...I can get you the information as soon as we're on enough of a track to solidify it-as long as no one else knows."

I pretend to consider it, just to hide the fact that I'm definitely excited. If I delay my response, maybe I'll seem less interested. I definitely don't want him to think I'm playing into his hands or anything. "All right," I respond eventually. Poopie. That was a pretty excited tone.

And he notices, too, because he gives a smirk. "On one condition, though."

I gasp. "Condition! You're kidding. There's already a condition!"

"The first's not a bartering technique, that's just me not breakin' protocol," he responds easily. I resist the urge to add that, technically, it's protocol he _created, _so it really shouldn't matter. "Really, there are no conditions except this...and this one's not even that hard. You just have to hang around until I have the clearance to talk to you about it."

I'm not sure exactly what I was expecting, but this definitely wasn't it. I can't help but gape at him. "You're kidding."

He holds up both hands easily. "No jokes here."

He's not kidding, but I wish he was. Hang around the Machine Faction? Well, that might not be so bad, except for the fact that I'll be in close proximity of Gippal...and my father will have more of an opportunity to make me mad at him...not to mention those weird, fully masked guys. "I dunno, Gippal...I'm really busy."

"Busy? Doing what? The Gullwings are on break, and I'm pretty sure you've had enough social gatherin' for a lifetime," he responds with a grin.

"Well, I guess you could say..._hey_." I interrupt myself, turning to raise a brow at him. "How do _you_ know about what I've been doing over the past year, Gippal?"

"I..." Another person might not have noticed something amiss, but after growing up together, I'm sorta trained to Gippal. I know when he loses his cool, and he's definitely lost it for a second. Is that a hint of a blush under that deeply tanned skin? "Paine likes to keep in touch," he says finally, retaining that easygoing tone. "Y'know. Making up for lost time."

"Uhh-huh." I pick up his tone with my response. How many times has he used that on me? Too many to count.

He knows when he's been caught, but he also knows how to wriggle out of it. He clears his throat and says, "Look, are you stayin' or not? I can always do without tellin' you what's up..."

I could ask what the point is in me staying. I mean, I guess it's convenient for whenever the project is advanced enough, but there's no real _point _in it. There are ways to contact me. I should protest. _Should. _That exchange loosened me up, I think, though. Or maybe I would have said yes without it. Either way, instead of protesting again, I find myself saying, "Well...all right then. But not forever, okay? I won't hang around for months. I'll get bored."

"Oh, there are ways to keep from gettin' bored, trust me." His light tone is accompanied by a not-so-light gaze, one that looks over my entire body in a not-so-subtle way. Did I shiver? I sincerely hope not. As quickly as the look came, though, it's gone, and he says in an almost serious tone, "There are always some of those machines to fix. You're a genius with this stuff. I'll even pay you if you want."

"Hmm." I tip my head back, basking in the compliments. "That does sound tempting..." Thinking of workers, though, makes me a little more serious, so I sit up and add in a completely different tone, "Uhm. Gippal?"

He picks up on the change in my mood. I can tell by the way he looks more alert as he asks, "Yeah?"

"How do you divide the uniforms of people? I mean, do they get goggles for some things and masks for others, or is it all just for show?"

He crinkles his brow, and I can tell he has no idea why this came up. "Well, it started out as uniform, and it really still is, but it also kinda defines rank. That just goes hand in hand, because higher ranks tend to need more protection an' what-not."

"Oh. So...what about the ones with their faces completely covered? Are they in charge of something?" I don't like that thought, because I was really uncomfortable with them, and in spite of his shortcomings, I at least trust Gippal's judgment.

My theory of them being supervisors goes out the window pretty quickly as I watch Gippal's expression. He sits up straight, brow furrowed, and looks straight at me. "What do you mean, the ones with their faces completely covered?"

I find myself mimicking his posture before responding. "You know. The ones with..." I draw an outline of a mask with my finger from my forehead to my chin. "...the full masks. The dusky brown ones? They have really, really dark lenses, too." This is added as I suddenly recall the strange fact I hadn't even paid much attention to when the short Al Bhed was in my face. "That's a little weird. Do they work in the desert a lot?"

Gippal looks very, very alarmed. He leans forward stiffly, and asks in a voice that is not at all laidback, "You saw these guys? How many? What did they sound like? What happened?"

Whoa. I almost want to back away from the intensity, but I hold my ground. "There were four of them. The ringleader was short, and talked mostly in Al Bhed. He asked me if I was Cid's daughter. I asked why it mattered. He, uhm, leaned in and laughed and said he sure hoped I lived up to Pop's reputation. And then all of them kept walking."

"Walking? Which way?" I point, and he looks like he might tear down the path, but instead he settles back down and leans towards me again. His hand comes up to grab my arm. Is it getting warmer in here? Oh, Spira. "Did he touch you, Rikku? I swear, I..."

"No, he didn't touch me. He just got a little too close for comfort." Kinda like Gippal is, now, but in a totally different way. "Why? Who is this guy? What's up?"

He doesn't answer at first, looking me over intensely for a long moment. I have to work hard to hold my ground, because backing away is definitely a strong instinct. Leaning forward might just be, too, but that is a Bad Rikku thought that I am not allowed to think. I manage to hover where I am until, eventually, he lets go of me with a gruff, uncharacteristic noise. "I dunno, Rikku. You're not the first to mention them. I can tell you right now they're not Machine Faction employees. No one's recognized them, and every time they see someone they've got a different description of 'im. They haven't done anything, yet, but I've just got this feeling...they mean trouble."

The intensity is starting to make a little more sense. "If you guys know they exist, why would they just go blazing down the path of the Machine Faction headquarters?"

"Not everyone knows about them. They seem to know who to avoid and when to do it. Somehow." He yanks a hand through that spiked hair, sending it into slight disarray. "If...if they talk to you again...or if they touch you...let me know. Please." He seems unsteady, which in turn makes me a little unsteady. Why press the point of touching?

I'm not used to this kind of intensity from Gippal. I have to take a moment to compose myself before I respond as easily as I can, "Yeah. Okay. I'll let you know." I'm still uncomfortable. This calls for a subject change. "So, where am I staying?"

"Staying?" He looks at me blankly, and then suddenly his easy-going manner returns in a quick, visible transition "_Cred_," he mutters. _Shit_. "I didn't think that one through. Uhm, well, most of us do go home or at least have our own places, but we did rig up a base of sorts under the agency building. Y'know, the one where you sign up for digging?" He raises his brows at me, and I shift, fighting the heat from overtaking my face. Of course, I know the place. I did work for him at one point. "Anyway," he presses on. "You can have the room that Nhadala uses. She's not gonna hang around long. She's only here during the day for-"

"The big, mysterious project," I finish, complete with a wistful sigh.

"Yeah. That." He grins at me. "Have patience, Cid's Girl. You'll find out in due time." He leans forward to pat my knee, and then, before I can really process anything, he laughs, stands, and is off.

"Cid's Girl," I mutter with a roll of my eyes. He very well knows my name. He said it earlier. He only calls me Cid's Girl because he's aware that the reputation gets to me. Well. Two can play at that game. I'll call him...something that really bugs him. As soon as I come up with it.

It looks like I'll have time, since apparently I'll be staying for a while.

As if on cue, Mr. Machina turns jerkily and lets out some kind of feedback, like he's laughing at me. I point at it threateningly. "Hey, I made you. I can take you down." He seems unimpressed. I huff and stand, stretching for a moment before heading back down the road that will take me to the temple clearing. May as well find Brother.

At least I can do a small amount of mysterious gloating to cheer myself up.


	3. Chapter 3

I expect to make the journey to hunt my brother down alone, but I must have done something strange with the wiring on Mr. Machina, because he follows after me. Maybe he's set to walk along a path or something. It's strange that the path would match exactly with mine, but I'd rather believe that than admit that I messed up, and besides, he had a path separate from mine at first, so there. If Paine stabs something and it doesn't die, it's definitely some sort of weird mortality glitch and not her fault. I have the same mentality with my machina reparations. It's what I _do. _There's no way I could mess it up.

I guess I'm not going to complain. The company's nice, even if it doesn't say much. I feel less alone as I bustle amidst the people that occasionally stop me to ask a question about my life or a machina, or chat about the children they've had since I last saw them. Children are a big staple for Al Bhed. We want sticky children, full of laughter and chaos and love. I'd like to say I'm special or whatever, but honestly, I feel the urge, myself. 'Course, I'm only eighteen, and then there's the issue of the fact that I don't have anyone to love and have children with-minor factors, mind you. Besides, who needs men?

"Men are overrated," I tell my machina friend. He doesn't protest, so I continue, "See, even you won't say anything about it, and you're a Mr. I just wish all men would behave like you." I huff a sigh and continue the hunt for Brother with a fervency. If I'm trying to fight off the thought I just brought up, I won't admit it. Whatever my reason, the hunt is fruitless. I end up in a spot to the side of the agency building, my legs folded under me and Mr. Machina by my side.

"Shouldn't you be back to patrolling or something by now?" I ask the machina, wrinkling my nose. He paces a circle around me, but doesn't move away. I'm starting to think that maybe I did something, after all. "Well, poopie. Did I break you more?" I reach out a foot to tap his side, and he freezes for a moment before continuing his circle.

"Maybe you've just taken a liking to me," I muse. That's a lot more pleasant to picture than imagining that I've somehow messed up. "I guess that's nice. Although I wish you would talk more. Then again, maybe I just want someone to listen to me."

The machina pauses in his tracks, digging his legs into the ground. I grew up knowing that machina don't have feelings, but...well, I'd like to imagine that they do. Maybe that's why it's so easy to talk to them. "Y'know, people have feelings, and they can be hard to talk to. Especially men." Especially Gippal. But that's a lie, isn't it? I don't hate him. I don't find him hard to talk to, which is the problem. It's too easy. "He's such a _cmaywa!" _I exclaim. Calling him a sleaze is fairly accurate. "Who does he think he _is? _He ignores me me for a _year _and then all of a sudden he's teasing me about the secret project and bribing me into staying and knowing what I've been doing with my life and _being all concerned about me! _There is nothing fair about that...that...rrrgh!" I let out a huff and stomp. The machina freezes again, which makes me realize that I definitely shouted that last sentence. A few of the workers have stopped to stare at me, blinking in confusion and maybe annoyance. I laugh nervously, give them my best grin. They don't seem convinced, but they do go back to their work-except one. She gives me a grin and wanders over.

There's something ostentatiously different about this one. She's in a fairly typical female worker's uniform-a cropped shirt and a pair of protective chaps-but there's something obviously different about her. Her body is athletic and tan, blending in with the rest of the workers, but her hair, maintained in a high ponytail, is dark. Regardless, she opens by speaking to me in my own tongue: "_Oui ymm nekrd, drana?" You all right, there? _Her tone isn't one of concern, but amusement.

"_E's veha,_" I mutter, feeling my cheeks heat. _I'm fine. _

"_Oui caas banrybc y meddma vnicdnydat." You seem a little frustrated. _She must be on break, because she proceeds to sit down beside me. Her straight-backed, careful posture contrasts sharply with my haphazard slump. She turns, narrows her eyes, and then pushes up her goggles. Her dark eyes confirm my thoughts: there is not a hint of Al Bhed in her blood. "_Oui muug vysemeyn." You look familiar._

"_E cruimt," _I tell her. _I should._ I proceed to identify myself: "_So hysa ec Rikku. E's-"_

"Cid's daughter." She switches over to Spira's native tongue fluently. "Of course I recognize you. You're a big celebrity."

"Celebrity." I laugh. "I can't ever decide whether I love or hate that word."

"I think that's the attitude that most celebrities have," she notes, and then shifts, offering me a hand. "Well, Rikku. Hello. I'm Sephoria."

"That's a pretty name!" I exclaim, receiving the shake. Her hand swallows mine whole. Stupid, small stature. "So, uhm..." Yunie has tried to pound basic social rules into my head for years, so I do hesitate, but I proceed with my question anyway. "You're not Al Bhed?"

She laughs. "Uhm. Duh." I duck my head, flushing, and she gives a shrug. "Right. It's...a long story. I'm just as competent as you, though." She lifts her chin, the last sentence strong. That's probably a prejudice that she gets a lot.

"Oh," I reply, and then realize what an awful word that is. "I mean, not oh, like, I doubt you or anything! Just oh, like...that's weird." _Cred. _I'm no good at this.

Luckily, Sephoria is fairly good-humored, because she just laughs at me. "It is pretty unheard of, huh?" She lets her gaze wander out to Mr. Machina. "Huh. It's been hanging around you an awful lot. I don't remember seeing it on patrol, recently, either."

_It. _I give an indignant sniff. "I fixed him earlier," I explain. "I'm waiting on my old man, and that's a pretty good way to entertain myself. But he...he likes me, I guess."

"Likes you," she responds doubtfully. I lift my chin, mirroring her expression of moments ago. "Just like an Al Bhed." She grins at me in a way that incites another sniff. "What did you do with the circuitry?"

"Nothing special," I respond. "I just used whatever wires I found hanging around...hey! What are you doing?" She's moving in on Mr. Machina, going for the mechanism that will shut him down for repairs.

"I want to take a look at him." She flips her ponytail back to look at me over her shoulder. "That machine isn't behaving the way a normal patroller would, so obviously, there's something different-"

"Just leave him alone, okay?" I snap. My words are a little too aggressive. "Sorry. Can we just...let him do his thing? You know, for now?"

She looks at me for a moment in a way that clearly suggests I might be insane and then shrugs, deciding to humor me. "I guess he's not hurting anythi-"

""_Cu drec ec frana oui nyh uvv du!" _The screeching voice of my brother interrupts whatever she'd been about to say. He moves over towards me, and then stops, cocking his head as he catches sight of Sephoria. "_Fru'c drec? Cra'c hud uha uv ic!_" _Who's this? She's not one of us! _Judging by both his words and expression, he doesn't seem to anticipate Sephoria understanding him at all.

I open my mouth to tell Brother off, but Sephoria interrupts in Spira's native tongue, her expression guileless. "Who is this, Rikku?"

I bite my lip to hide a smirk. "This is my Brother, Brother." Turning to Brother, I say in the Al Bhed language, "_Pa xiead, eteud. Cra ryc y duikr ahuikr desa fedruid oui pudranehk ran." Be quiet, idiot. She has a tough enough time without you bothering her._

Brother scoffs. "_E ruba cra tuac! Fa yna aqlmiceja vun y naycuh." I hope she does! We are exclusive for a reason! _

"Brother, _dryd ec hud dra yddedita oui cruimt ryja." That is not the attitude you should have._ "Be fair. You don't know her."

He snorts. "_E ghuf cra'mm hajan gaab ib._" _I know she'll never keep up. _

"_Tu oui, huf?" Do you, now? _But it doesn't come from me. Brother turns to Sephoria, his mouth agape.

"_Oui ihtancdyht sa?" You understand me?_

"_Uv luinca. Ruf eh Cbeny fuimt E ajan syga ed eh drec funmt ev E teth'd ihtancdyht?" Of course. How in Spira would I ever make it in this world if I didn't understand? _She snaps out the words, and then switches tongues. "This is my life as much as yours, Brother, if not more. I am as born into this as you."

Brother lets out a scoff that is more of a shriek-he's super upset. Since Spira's native language is one that he recently learned, he usually lapses into ours when he's mad, but Sephoria must have gotten to him, because he struggles along. "You are not..._born into this..._if you are not one of us. You look like...like _them. _Machina..." He pounds his chest. "...is in my blood. What is in yours?"

"Cunning. Craftiness. Warmth. Light. All of the things in yours, but in a different package." Sephoria stands tall-and she is pretty tall. She comes to above Brother's shoulder, which is an accomplishment in my book. "The Al Bhed have always been concerned about the prejudice found in Spira's hearts. But what of the prejudice within your own?"

"Prejudice!" he shrieks. "Prejudice, she says. I...I am...un...I am un..." He looks towards me, helpless. I shrug.

"Unbiased?" she supplies, making his head whip back around to face her. "You have bias against me, because I am not Al Bhed, and yet I fit in here. I can move between both worlds. Does that upset you?"

Brother doesn't say anything, but he does let out a grumble and stomp at the ground. His face is red as he tilts his head down, and then, begrudgingly, mumbles, "It's nice to meet you, Sephoria."

"I'm sure the pleasure is mine." She settles down next to me again, nodding towards Brother. "Would you like to join us? I was getting to know Rikku while on my break."

"Sure, sure." He mutters something else and then seats himself in a sloppy, cross-legged manner, shaking his head at Sephoria. His attention wanders to me, and then to Mr. Machina. "What is this thing?"

"A machina I fixed. He really likes me," I say promptly, and then, to take attention away from my new friend,, add, "So, where did you go?"

"I took a walk with Cahrr and Samon. Their project was stalled, so they had some free time." I vaguely remember the pair: tall, fun-loving and vaguely annoying, like most Al Bhed males.

"Samon may be done, but I'm certain that Cahrr is just shirking his responsibilities again," Sephoria notes absently. At Brother's raised brow, she shrugs. "He's got an assignment that he hates-machine road repair. He'd much rather be one of the big baddies, working on some great project that's going to change Spira."

"Don't you have one of those going on right now?" I ask, looking at my shoes with the most innocent expression I can manage.

"Oh, no, trickster," she says, and that does somewhat mark a difference between her and an Al Bhed-we would say _dnelgcdan_. "Even if I knew something, I couldn't tell you. I bet that's why you're here, too, isn't it? Your father's on the team, isn't he? And so is Gippal."

"I'm here for my old man," I reply, my face warming in a way that makes me quite worried the blush will come through my tanned skin. "I had no idea that...Gippal would be on the project. Why would _he_ matter?" I sound more defensive than I should. _Cred. _

"Oh. So, you two aren't close?" she asks in an exaggerated surprised face.

"Not...we haven't exactly talked lately. Not in the last year or so," I murmur.

"Really? That's surprising, considering the way he talks about you."

"_He _talks about me? _Fryd tuac ra cyo?" What does he say? _Oh, no, I am far too eager about this. Brother gives me a calculating look that has me squirming. I'm not sure how much he knows about Gippal and I, except that when I thought we had something, so did Brother. Brother doesn't know how it ended-_I _don't even know, for Spira's sake-but I'm sure he has some wild theory. He didn't believe me when I told him it just...ended. If there had ever been anything to end, I guess.

Sephoria seems to have realized my rambling thoughts, because she waits for me to make eye contact with her before she answers, her tone all too knowing. "It's not that he gushes about you. I can just tell that he sees you diferently from the other girls, ya?" _Ya. _That's such a Besaid way to end a sentence-_yeah _for the rest of the world, but _ya _for the island. Is that where she was born?

Not even a clue into her past can keep me from what she said about Gippal, though. It just confirms my theory. "You've got that right. He doesn't even see me as a girl, I think. Just a slightly weaker guy. I'm one of the _puoc._"

"You think he sees you as one of the boys?" she asks. I don't have an answer for that, but she doesn't seem to be looking for one. "Hmm."

"Gippal is a big..._zang,_" Brother declares, adding a scoff at the end. I suppose there are worse things that he could be called than _jerk, _but his tone still makes me wince. Brother was irritated when my not-relationship with Gippal ended, and apparently that irritation hasn't faded. "Girls...are lovely. Gippal does not treat them like they are lovely."

I'm a little surprised to hear that sentence come from my brother's mouth, especially in Spira's native tongue, but I don't say anything. Sephoria doesn't, either, but she raises her brows towards Brother in a way that makes him shrug.

I don't want the silence to drag on, considering the thoughts about Gippal and myself and the not-thing that will occur during it, so I clear my throat and say brightly, "Sephoria, do you know when they get done working on the Super Secret Project? Cid's supposed to talk to us whenever it's done, I guess."

She makes a little hum with the back of her throat, considering. "It really depends on how the work is going. If they get frustrated, they throw everything down and stop work. If they don't, they work for hours without break. There really isn't much of an in between."

"They don't...take breaks? To stretch their legs or something?" I ask, my confusion definitely leaking into my tone more than it should. Gippal had just seen me while walking the path. How did _that _add up? "Are they still working?"

"They were when I approached you." Sephoria brushes a strand of dark hair back, watching me curiously. "Why?"

"Uhm. No reason. I just-oh, isn't that Cahrr?" I point towards the male jogging in our direction, his long, tied-back blonde braids jiggling wildly. He comes to a halt and grins, giving me a brilliant wave. There are smudges of dirt on his attractive face. Some people never change.

"Hi, Rikku!" Enthusiastic as always, he moves his waving hands behind his head and bounces lightly.

"Hello, Cahrr. _Ruf tuac meva dnayd oui?" How does life treat you_?" I offer him my best grin.

"_Dra pacd ed lyh." The best it can. _"Anyway, I'm supposed to get you. Cid's all done with work," he explains.

"Of course. The royal pain can't just find us himself," I huff good-naturedly, before turning to Sephoria. "I'm going to be here for a while. We should find each other later." This is the sort of social no-no that Yunie would yell at me for. _Rikku, you are not even sure that she likes you. Give her time to breathe. _

I may be a little enthusiastic with strangers, but Sephoria doesn't seem to mind, because she beams at me. "Sure thing! Have fun!"

I wrinkle my nose at her. "Ohh. That's a good one." Brother is already up, and he snatches at my hand to swing me upward-not to be kind, mind you, but so we can get going. "I'll see you around," I chirp to the brunette, rolling my eyes towards my brother. She gives me a smile and a wave, and then Brother is dragging me off, already shrieking questions for me to avoid.

"What do you mean, _be here a while_?!"


	4. Chapter 4

In typical Cid fashion, as soon as we approach my old man, he yells boisterously at us to follow him and then takes off out the temple-turned-workplace doors. Brother and I look at each other, shrug, and then jog after him. Even with the gruffness, it doesn't take long for Brother to start talking.

"So...what's the Secret Project like?" he asks excitedly.

"You know," I butt in, "the one that you ditched us for all day?"

Cid chuckles. "Damn, ye sure don't waste time! I already told ye I can't say anything, now didn't I?"

"Well, that was in front of...you know..._the others._You can tell us now, can't you?" I bump his arm lightly with my closed fist, playing on his ever-present sense of family. He's always been really good at telling us things he's not exactly _supposed_to.

"Ohh, nice try, there, girl. I raised ye right. Still can't say anything, though." He bumps me right back with considerably more force.

"Owie," I mutter under my breath, rubbing at my arm. Then, louder: "Oh, why not? You've always told us stuff before! _Family's everything_, remember?" I lower my voice to imitate his.

Cid rubs at his face thoughtfully. "Yer right. This thing's different, though. We can do a lot of good with this. Technology's gonna be top-notch and brand-spankin'-new. Gippal calls it..._innovative._" He rolls his eyes. "Pretty boy and his ideas. Anyway, I can't risk this information bein' leaked, even if I do trust my family. 'Sides, Gippal would have my head."

"_Gippal _wouldn't have to know," Brother points out.

"Now, I said _no,_boy. What is it with ye and yer burnin' curiosity over everything that doesn't involve ye?"

We pester him all the way to the food center, but we still don't get anywhere. Luckily, the food table has lots of goodies, so I'm distracted by loading my plate…maybe _overloading._Spira, I need to get back in shape. Where's a good fiend when you need it?

We settle down and food keeps us from talking for a few minutes. It doesn't last, though; Cid turns to me, a mouthful of bread, and notes, "Good to see ye back, kid. Being here's better than gallivantin' around all o' Spira an' lookin' pretty for the spheres."

"It's more than that," I protest, pausing to take a chunk out of some lovely fruit. "_Mmm. _Perfect. Really, though, it's about the Calm. Things are better now, y'know? People like us more, especially after I've saved the world a couple of times. We've gotta keep people from losing hope. I'm a _celebrity__."_

_"Celebrity,_" Cid scoffs. "Well, I say let everyone else be a celebrity. Ye've got a lot of talent, and the trainin', too. I know, 'cause I taught it to ye. Yer an asset here, and 's'where ye belong."

"_Cra'c cdyoehk," _Brother points out, barely understood through the amount of food he's packed into his cheeks. _She's staying._

"Ye are?" Cid slaps the table. "Well, I'll be! What got ye to stay?"

"_Who_ do you think?" Brother asks, swallowing the food before covering one eye and batting his lashes.

"Oh, dammit, Rikku." He looks towards me accusingly. "Yer not...one of his _things,_are ye?"

Am I blushing? Oh, _poopie__. _"_No,_Cid." I use his name. That's how stern I am being right now. _Super duper stern._"He just said maybe if I stuck around I could find out a little more about this project and, y'know, help out. I'm getting bored with all these parties, honestly."

"_Hmph._" Cid looks me over. I can't help it; I look down at my plate, squirming under his gaze. "You sure it's not just 'cause-"

"_Yes I'm sure,_" I interrupt, my voice maybe a little too high. "Can we change the subject?"

Brother's watching me, so I shove food in my mouth as some sort of distraction while Cid huffs, "Well, then, what're ye doin' while yer here?"

"Uhmmm..." I glare at him, considering the amount of bread I've just filled myself with. "Stuff." Except it's more like _schrrf._

He gives me one of his mocking bark-laughs. "Don't even know what yer agreein' to? Yer in for it!"

"Thanks." I manage to swallow my mouthful and then ask, "It can't be that bad, can it? I mean. I like machina, and working with them-"

"_Machines,"_Cid interrupts harshly, holding up a finger. "They're machines, Rikku. Don't forget that."

"_Machines? _They're not _machines. _They've always _been _machina, Pop, and they're always gonna _be_ machina_._"

Brother waves his fruit at me. "You can't call them machina, Rikku. You know how Spira is. There are...are..."

"Prejudices shouldn't matter." I interrupt Brother's struggle for the word in Spira's native tongue. "If we're ever gonna get accepted as a culture, we can't do it by just...following whatever they want us to. We've gotta be ourselves, y'know?"

"Now, Rikku, the world don't work like that, and ye know it," Cid says with a long-suffering sigh.

"I don't really _care__."_

"It was easier...talking about _Gippal,_" Brother scoffs.

"Oh, no, we are _done _with that smarmy eye-patch man," I snap. "We'll talk about something else. What about...Sephoria?"

"Sephoria! Oh, she's a great girl." My father gives Brother that look he always gets when he's pushing his nose into things. "She's yer age, y'know. Ye could do a lot worse."

"_Sephoria?_ She's not one of us," Brother exclaims.

"Now, you hold yer _tongue." _Cid hits the table hard enough to make the dishes clank. "You prob'ly couldn't hold yer own against her when it comes to machine, and she don't even have the blood. She deserves the Machine Faction just as much as you. Maybe even more."

"_Fryd?! Drana'c hu fyo_-"

"Oh, can you just _stop?_" I interrupt, more angrily than even I expected. Brother shuts up, giving me a wide-eyed look. "Stuff like that is what keeps this prejudice thing going! That's exactly the same as them thinking we're low. We're different, yeah, so what? We're never going to get anywhere like that, Brother."

"So what are you saying?" Brother scoffs. "We should just let them…walk all over us?"

"We should just _live in peace._What about Yuna, Brother? She's not all us. And Paine? Wakka, Lulu, all the others? You like _them.__People are people._That's all."

There's a long silence at the table. Brother never breaks eye contact, but it's Cid that talks first. "Well, I'll be damned! Yer a regular little advocate! Maybe _that's _what ye should be doin' with all that fame."

I almost say something flippant, but really…what about it's bad? Rikku the Activist. Rikku the Advocate. Rikku, the Uniter of People. "Y'know, Pop, that's definitely not the craziest thing you've ever come up with."

He looks pretty proud of himself. "Maybe ye shouldn't write me off so easily, girly. I did raise ye."

"Yeah, yeah." I stretch out before popping a handful of grapes into my mouth. There's a few moments of almost-comfortable silence while we break to chew, and then I turn to the still-silent Brother. "So, are you staying with me or going back?"

"Stay here?" Brother's mastered the art of talking with his mouth full, so his words aren't even that muffled. He swallows the food and then wipes at his mouth with his glove. He really should have taken that off to eat. "Why would I stay here?"

"I dunno, you could...explore stuff. And catch up with your old friends. And...stuff." I shrug.

Brother leans toward me over the table, raising an eyebrow. "Rikku, would you _miss me?"_

"_Miss you? _No way! I was just thinking it would be a good excuse for you to hang out, y'know? Catch up with people? Jeez, this is what I get for trying to be nice..." There is some sort of terrifying truth to his taunting, though. Traveling around with Brother…kind of grows on you. He's become my one constant, and even though he's excitable, I know I can lean on him if I need to. Not that I'd ever admit it to him, mind you.

"_E tuh'd ghuf_," he says thoughtfully. _I don't know._" It would be good to see people again, but...I don't want to get...stuck." He gives me a meaningful look. "Plus I don't want to see it when you go down."

What in Spira is _that _supposed to mean? _When I go down. _And the _look._ "It's nice to know that you put so much faith in my machina fixing," I guess at his meaning. "I'm an expert, you know!"

"Rikku..." He trails off, giving a laugh instead of an actual _explanation._He glances towards Pop and then back to me. "_Fa'mm dymg ypuid ed mydan, ugyo?"_ _We'll talk about this later, okay?_

Cid always manages to do this thing where instead of getting curious he gets blustery. He wipes his nose with his sleeve and slaps a meaty hand on the table. "Well, I dunno about yerselves, but I'm full an' I'm _tired. _I'm gonna head to bed. Ye should at least stay for the night, Brother." Brother gives a slight nod. That's all the encouragement Cid needs to continue. "Want me to walk ye?"

Brother answers for both of us before I can even think about opening my mouth. "No, no. We'll find it. Don't worry about a thing."

I raise a brow towards him. Brother always crafts his sentences really well when he's trying to avoid something, in both Spira's native tongue and Al Bhed. He catches the glance and gives a quick, rough shake of his head. I shrug in response.

"All right, but if ye get lost, don't blame me." He pats the table roughly and then stands. "See ye in the mornin'." With that, he lumbers away.

I watch him for a few moments before turning to Brother. "What was _that _all about? You got all…weird."

He huffs a sigh. "I just didn't want to talk in front of Cid. You know that he's very…protective."

"So? What does him being protective have to do with my skills with machina and how much you doubt me?" I sniff. "Unless you just don't want him to yell at you. Which he would."

"Yeah, yeah, he likes you better." Brother waved a hand towards me. "That's not what I meant, though. You…" He pauses to glance around, noting a few people that are staring at us with avid interest. Cid's kids are probably a big topic of discussion right now. "Not here. Let's walk back to where we stay."

I consider telling him that we'll probably run into just as many people along the way, but then I decide that's not likely. It's late, and while Al Bhed certainly know how to have a good time, they also know how to rest for work. Sleep is a heavenly thing. "Okie. But I want you to know you're being _really weird._" I shove the last of the bread slice into my mouth and then give a nod towards Brother, signifying that I'm ready.

"You never stop eating," he sighs, giving a pointed glance towards my almost-not-flat belly. "How you're not as big as a Shoopuf is Spira's greatest mystery."

"I burn a lot of energy," I say with a shrug. I really do need to burn a bit more, though. As a guardian and then, later, a sphere hunter, moving around was part of the job. Now, the only exercise I ever really get is from dancing. I feel like my fighting skills are getting rusty, too. Maybe I should find a sparring partner to practice with…

"…do you?" Brother was finishing his sentence as my thought trailed off into space.

I blinked to clear my head, and then offered a sheepish smile. "Sorry! What?"

He stares at me through squinted eyes for a moment, and then sighs. "I asked if you really didn't get it."

"Get what?" Spira! How much of this conversation did I miss?

"What I meant earlier. When you thought I was talking about your skills." My face must be blank enough to encourage him into continuing. "Rikku. You like Gippal. You like Gippal a lot. _Gippal _likes Gippa la lot. It will end _really _bad. I don't want to be around when…you crash and burn."

My instinctive reaction is to get really defensive and maybe a little mad. "I am _not _gonna crash and burn! I don't even like—"

"Rikku, don't lie to me. You've liked him since we were kids. You got distracted by that guardian man for a while—"

"_You do not mean Tidus. Tidus was Yunie's,_" I snap, my face hot. Maybe I flirted with him a little, but once Yunie loved him I backed right off!

"—but once he was gone, Gippal popped right into your mind again. I remember what it was like with Vegnagun. I remember the discounts you try to give him. I see how you look at him. I see how you look when you even think about him, Rikku. But he's bad news. He has to get over himself before he could ever be with you the way you want him to."

"I…" I'm so _mad _at him. That is what I am. He brings up Tidus for the first time _ever _and then he says that I want to be with Gippal and he does all of this without even looking at me! My face is hot, my eyes burning. My throat feels like it's sealed with hot wax. I can't even get any words past to _yell at him._

"Rikku, you're mad at me. You always get mad when someone says something you won't admit to yourself. Anything you say from here will just be an attack—"

"_Crid ib!" _I shout, wringing my hands and bringing them to my face. "You don't know me! You don't know what I want! _I _don't know what I want! Just. Stop!"

He looks at me quietly, which just makes me madder. It's not at all like Brother to just take it. I want him to fight back. I want him to get mad and scream back and maybe even exchange fists instead of words, but he's just so damn _mild. _"Rikku," he says simply, giving me this pitying look. "Just…be careful."

I do my best to scoff indignantly. "Right, sure, because there's something to be careful about? You're wrong, Brother. I'm fine."

"Right," he repeats, just as mildly. "But if and when that ever stops being true, just remember I warned you…and that I guess, if you fall apart, I'll be here. I kind of have to or…whatever."

I still really want to hit him, but I can't say much negative about that statement. The relationship between Brother and I isn't exactly riddled with affectionate statements. I guess if he's taking me into account, I should be a grown-up about it and let him. Being mature sucks. "Hmph," is all I say on the matter.

He shoves his hands into the pockets of his stupid overalls and kicks at the dirt a bit, but doesn't say anything. I peek at him, curious as to what exactly he's thinking. His face is neutral, although maybe there's a bit of a grimace. He glances up from the ground, as if sensing me staring, and gives me a tight-lipped smile. "Maybe I'll stick around…just for a few days," he says, grudgingly almost.

I feel a grin stretch across my face, and that more than my actual feelings is what makes me realize how excited I am. "Oh—okay. I mean, if you really want to, that's fun, but—"

"_Crid ib,_" he says affectionately, reaching over to tousle my ponytail. I fight him, and he drops a heavy arm around my shoulders. "Maybe it's good to be here…y'know? It's good to be home every once in a while. Even if Home isn't really what it was…"

I still harbor a lot of guilt over what we had to do to rescue Home, and the statement takes me back to the moment. It had been overrun, and so much was damaged, so many lives taken…we couldn't risk anything worse happening because there was _so much _in there. It's so easy to go back and put myself there, on the ship, listening as Brother's wavering voice rises in the hymn of Yevon and Cid's strong voice comes to back him up…I lean into Brother, feeling my arms erupt into gooseflesh. _"Cusa drehkc ryja du aht vun dra kuut du pakeh,_" I murmur. _Some things have to end for the good to begin. _"Look where we are, now. We've reached peace. We're working towards harmony with everyone. Our technology is finally being used. And even though Home's gone, we carry it with us." I raise my hand to my heart, a forceful hit rather than a gentle placement. "It won't die."

I glance up towards him, and the smile he gives me hints at everything but joy. As much guilt as I felt, Brother was at the helm of the plane, helping to direct. "It's in our hearts," he confirms. "But what happens when we die? We can tell our children stories, but…_drao'mm hajan naymmo ghuf._" _They'll never really know. _

The Rikku I'd been before all of this traveling wouldn't have known how to answer this at all, but my heart is stronger, now, I think. Brother's thought hurts, but I don't have much hesitation when I respond, "Maybe…but it will be a different world. Home is in our hearts because it's the idea of us. It's the Al Bhed. We're going to branch, though. People accept us more. Our children will have the same thing in their hearts, and they won't even need a place just for it."

"Hmh," Brother mutters, peering towards me. "You really mean it about all this…equality stuff, don't you?"

"It's in my heart as strongly as Home," I reply without hesitation.

"Maybe it will work. Maybe if there are people like you behind it."

That is the _biggest _compliment he's ever given me. I can't help but squeal and hug at his side, nearly knocking us both to the ground.

"Whoa, whoa! _Lyms tufh_!" _Calm down! _He pats at my back for a moment before prying me off. "Look, look. We're here. Go to bed. Long day tomorrow."

"Yeah, yeah." I laugh, before reaching up on my toes to muffle his…Mohawk…thing. He lets out a bark of laughter and then pushes at me.

We get our rooms sorted out, and then part ways, leaving me alone in a room that smells faintly of Nhadala's perfume, which is really not a problem at all. My thoughts are daydreams of equality and success, carrying me easily off to sleep.


End file.
